Helping the widows and the poor people

"A person who helps the widows and the poor people, is like a person who struggles in the path of Allah or like a person who remains engaged in Ibaadah at night and fasts during the day." (Saheeh Bukhari)

Explanation: There are many rewards in spending the night in Ibaadah. Similarly, fasting has great merit. If a person does not have time or is unable to do all this because he is spending his time helping the poor, then, according to this Hadith, his efforts will be considered like the efforts of a person who spends the night in Ibaadah and fasts during the day or a person who does Jihad in the path of Allah Ta’ala.

Normally, as we all know, a person must make a lot of sacrifices and efforts to make Ibaadat. This Hadith has compared the effort of a person who helps the widows and the poor, to the effort of these difficult Ibaadaat in order to give an idea of the value and merit of this work that people do not normally tend to regard as a great work.

[English version of "Occupe banne veuves et banne dimoune pauvre" – Al Jamiat – Vol.2 No.15]